Griffith RutherfordPolitician

Griffith Rutherford (c. 1721 – August 10, 1805) was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee.
During the French and Indian War, Rutherford became a captain of a local British colonial militia. He continued serving in the militia until the start of the revolution in 1775, at which time he enlisted in the North Carolina militia as a colonel. He was appointed to the post of brigadier general of the "Salisbury District" in May 1776, and participated in the initial phases of the Chickamauga Wars against the Cherokee Indians along the frontier. In June 1780, he was partly responsible for the Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. Rutherford was present at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, where he was taken prisoner by the British. After being exchanged in 1781, Rutherford participated in several other campaigns, including further attacks on the Chickamauga faction of the Cherokee.
Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of eighteen.

Personal details

Military conflicts participated

American Revolutionary War

Started

April 19th, 1775

Ended

September 3rd, 1783

Wikipedia article

The American Revolutionary War, the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the revolt against Great Britain by the thirteen American colonies which founded the United States of America. Originally limited to the colonies, French and Spanish intervention would spread the fighting to Europe, the Caribbean, and the East Indies as well. The war had its origins in the resistance of many Americans to taxes imposed by the British parliament, which they held to be unlawful. Formal acts of rebellion against British authority began in 1774 when the Patriot Suffolk Resolves ousted the royal government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The tensions caused by this would lead to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. By spring 1776 the Patriots had full control in all thirteen colonies and on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared their independence. The British were meanwhile mustering large forces to put down the revolt.